A forthcoming book is pulling back the curtain on what it describes as dysfunction, spectacle and ruthless calculation inside the Department of Homeland Security — and at the center of it all is Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
In Undue Process: The Inside Story of Trump’s Mass Deportation Program, NBC News reporter Julia Ainsley writes that President Donald Trump viewed Noem’s now-infamous story about shooting her dog as proof she had the steel he wanted to execute his sweeping deportation agenda.
According to an excerpt detailed in The Atlantic, Trump believed Noem’s admission that she shot her “untrainable” dog, Cricket, showed a willingness to make hard, unpopular decisions. The story first surfaced in 2024 in Noem’s memoir, where she described killing the dog as an act of responsibility. She also acknowledged killing a family goat on the same day and previously putting down three horses, writing, “We love animals.”
The episode drew bipartisan mockery at the time and was lampooned on South Park. But in Ainsley’s telling, it became part of the mythology that elevated Noem from former South Dakota governor to one of the most powerful figures in Trump’s second administration.
The book portrays a DHS consumed by “constant chaos,” echoing prior reporting from The Wall Street Journal. Insiders cited in the book describe a department struggling under the weight of an aggressive mass-deportation campaign that has already resulted in the deaths of three U.S. citizens.
While Trump won the 2024 election campaigning heavily on immigration enforcement, public sentiment appears to be shifting. NBC polling shows that 49 percent of Americans now strongly disapprove of how he is handling border security and immigration. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has borne much of the public’s anger as images of raids and detention facilities circulate widely.
Ainsley reports that Noem’s closest advisor, Corey Lewandowski, wields extraordinary influence within DHS. Officially hired as a “special government employee,” Lewandowski has reportedly referred to himself as Noem’s “chief advisor.” According to the book, he determines which information reaches her desk, who is granted meetings and even what types of detention facilities are constructed as deportations accelerate.
The pair have denied allegations of a romantic relationship, though unnamed insiders told Ainsley they “don’t hide it.” A DHS spokesperson dismissed such claims, stating, “This Department doesn’t waste time with salacious, baseless gossip.”
Beyond personal intrigue, the book alleges that Lewandowski has pushed for cost-cutting measures that critics describe as inhumane. Among the most controversial initiatives is a detention site in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Amnesty International has alleged that detainees there were shackled to cages and left outdoors for extended periods in punishing conditions.
Lewandowski has also reportedly advocated for tent cities in remote areas as a fast, inexpensive way to expand detention capacity. Supporters argue such measures are necessary to fulfill Trump’s promise of mass deportations. Critics say they represent a humanitarian crisis unfolding in plain sight.
Ainsley’s portrait of DHS is one where power is centralized, loyalty is prized and optics matter deeply. Some insiders told her that Noem appears more focused on cultivating a tough-on-crime image — including staging photo opportunities with officials holding firearms — than on managing the sprawling bureaucracy under her control.
The book’s title, Undue Process, underscores what Ainsley suggests is a broader erosion of safeguards within the deportation system. As deportations scale up and facilities expand, questions about oversight and accountability grow louder.
For Noem, once ridiculed over a memoir anecdote about a dog named Cricket, the stakes are now far higher. What critics saw as a shocking confession may have been interpreted by Trump as proof of resolve.
Whether that resolve translates into effective governance — or deepens what the book describes as systemic dysfunction — remains a defining question for an administration that has made immigration enforcement its calling card.
